My grandmother was more of an apple crumble lady herself. My dad’s grandmother, however, could apparently make a mean apple strudel. Now I never met his grandmother but I have gone to a Hungarian restaurant, Old Country Inn, with my Dad who has told me that the strudel there taste’s just like she used to make so that’s my basis of comparison here.
In order to recreate Grandma NecessiTea’s strudel, this tisane is a blend of apples, raisins, cinnamon, chicory, almonds, vanilla, and natural flavoring. I brewed this hot, steeping about 3 teaspoons of tea in 16 ounces of 200F water for 5 minutes.
The first thing this tea brought to mind was the Forever Nuts blend by DAVIDsTEA. Both teas have that warming and sweet nutty flavor to them that takes over. At first when I tried Forever Nuts, I loved the flavor but it is strong and I was quickly turned off of it to the point that even the smell was off-putting. However, whether it be the long time I went without a tea like this or the subtle differences between this and the DAVIDsTEA version, I don’t mind this so much.
The apple is definitely the foundation flavor of this blend, coating your tongue with its sweet and fresh cinnamon-apple note. At first it is a bit of light vanilla that sits atop the apple but that quickly is taken over by the heavier and nutty almond and chicory flavors. There is a baked good vibe here and though the different components all together sound like an apple strudel, I find in actuality this tea doesn’t come together quite how it should so instead it is a jumble of flavors. In fairness, that could be due to my negative experience of Forever Nuts and the similarity to that but as I sip, I just can’t help but think that this is not the Apple Strudel tea for me.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Fruit Tisane
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Description
This tea does not appear to be available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Thoughts on Masculin / Lupicia. . .
If tea were a man this would be him.
Mix him with Lapsang Souchong and you’d get a real outdoors gentleman.
For once the rooibos isn’t the star of the show. Generally, rooibos takes over whatever is put in the tea bag with it. Even the ginseng is somewhat undertoned by this woody flavor.
I’m assuming it must be the maca.
With a name like MASCULIN I’m sure no one knew quite what to expect with this one. To be honest I really thought it was going to be a Lapsang Souchong.
Either way I don’t think this one is my cup of tea nor is the later mentioned tea. But I’m going to drink it all because we could all use a bit more vitality in our lives.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Description:
Four vital herbs (Maca, ginseng root, cinnamon, and ginger) blended with rooibos. Great for boosting your energy.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Organic Peppermint Cinnamon from Trader Joe’s. . . .
I’ve been feeling the need to cull my tea collection lately, friends. Now, before you gasp and exile me from Sororitea-Sisterhood, let me clarify. I have SO MUCH TEA. And frankly, lots of my “backlog” teas are ones that have sat there for a very, very, very long time. Rather than letting them languish, I’ve been packing them up (or tossing them out, if they’re really *that* old) and passing onto friends, and keeping my core collection full of teas that I really, really love. (this way, when new samples come in, I can happily sip a cup or two and then move along to the next without a giant back-stash of guilt staring at me from my tea cabinet.)
Now, you’d think in all this freshening-up of my tea cabinet, I’d be staying away from picking up anything new. Ah, friends, but you would be wrong. While I’ve been trying to stay away from restocking the empty spaces in my cabinets, the siren song of new blends has been a little tricky to resist. I’ve mostly persisted, but when I saw this cute little box of pyramid sachets for only a handful of dollars at Trader Joe’s, I knew it was coming to work with me for easy brewing.
This blend is simple, as the name implies– only peppermint leaves and cinnamon stick chunks, perfectly visible in the bag. It’s autumnal (thanks, cinnamon!) without being in-your-face, it’s herby and fresh (oh hey, peppermint) without being toothpaste-y. I can say with all honesty that it’s unlike any herbal I’ve ever had before– and frankly, when it comes to herbals, I’m learning that the simpler/fewer ingredients, the better. I’m finding this the perfect little bridge to get me through my mid-morning/pre-lunch slump during the workday, and it hits those festive fall notes, to boot. Well done, TJ’s! This is worthy of a space in my forever-cabinet.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Trader Joe’s
Chai Five from Tickled Tea. . .
This is not a tea I would pick for myself. In fact, it is not a tea I picked for myself. I am not one for chais, though I will admit when done right, they can be awesome but that is hard to accomplish when each person likes a different balance of spices and “right” to me may not be the same as “right” to another. That is why I left this out of my cart when grabbing samples of the many Tickled Tea offerings. Nonetheless, this appeared in my package and today, as the chilly autumn air set in, seemed like the perfect day to give it a try, latte-style.
Chai Five, as per the product description, is a spicy blend of black chai tea, including 5 traditional masala chai spices: cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger and peppercorns. It smells strongly of cardamom so I was definitely surprised when I got more clove flavor. That and a cinnamon sweetness. This is also one of the few times in a tea that I actually tasted the peppercorn, which is a nice kick. For those that love cardamom, don’t fret as there is still some of it to be found in the taste, though not as much as you would anticipate given the smell. Ginger lovers may be disappointed as I am finding my mug at least is lacking.
Nonetheless, this is actually a pretty lovely take on chai. Spicy and sweet and complimented beautifully by the creaminess of the milk. Like I said before, I am not a lover of chais, but on a cold day like today , a chai latte can be a nice bit of warming comfort in a mug and this certainly fit that bill.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tickled Tea
Description
A spicy blend of black chai tea, including 5 traditional masala chai spices: cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger and peppercorns.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Apple and Cinnamon from Teapigs. . . .
Recently I ordered the “cheeky” sample set from Teapigs and got a small taste of a dozen of their teas. One of my favorites from the bunch was Apple & Cinnamon. When the weather gets cool, my apple and cinnamon consumption grows exponentially, (I mean, for breakfast I’m exclusively eating these apple pie overnight oats). And this tea is my new obsession for an herbal evening brew.
Apple & Cinnamon tea from Teapigs is fitting into my autumn menu perfectly. This herbal blend is all fruit and herbs, no rooibos or honeybush or decaf tea leaves. Lots of little yellow cubes of dry apples, sprigs of cinnamon, and blackberry leaves. The tea brews up a pale amber color, but is jam-packed with sweet, apple-pie flavors.
This tea does “apple spice” better than every limited edition snack-cakes or seasonal scented candles that are on the shelves this time of year. This brew is juicy and full of authentic, fresh apple flavors, with plenty of the spicy warmth of cinnamon sticks. My sample from Teapigs only included two tea bags so I’ll have to place an order for a big bag of loose leaf. I could see this tea being used as a healthier alternative to mulled apple cider, or used in baked goods to add a gentle apple spice infusion.
If you’re having trouble getting into the autumn season, brew a cup of this herbal tea and relax into your favorite sweater and get ready to watch the leaves change color. Don’t worry, this tea will keep you warm and comfy.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Teapigs
Description:
Whether its in grandma’s pie, giant muffins or American pancakes nothing beats the flavour of sweet juicy apple with punchy cinnamon spice. It’s the perfect combination for a lovely fruity, punchy and spicy tea. Thanks go to the team at Olive and Bean, one of our lovely stockists in Newcastle who suggested this blend of apple and cinnamon.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
